The Tastiest-Bar None

My Mother-in-law is one of the best bakers I know. In fact, she turned me onto the s'mores bars you see above, along with dozens of other tasty treats that could make you gain weight just by looking at them. Let me just say that they are worth every calorie!

I often serve the s'mores bars in small ramekins, (which I heat up in the oven during dinner) and add a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream right before serving.

I included the Buckeye bars since I'm from Ohio and always feel guilty that I'm a Wolverine. :) Go Bucks (for my Dad) and Go Blue!!

Recipes:
New and Improved Layered Brownies with White Chocolate Caramel and Cacao Nib Gelato

Better than Camp S'mores

Brownie Meet Cookie Chipster Bars

The 'Go Bucks, Michigan [DOES NOT SUCK]' Bars (That's right, I changed the chant)

And my namesake: Blondies

Bon Appetit, Herseys, Good Eats n' Sweet Treats, SmittenKitchen.com

Food for Thought

What are you doing this weekend? Why not try to change things up and serve one of these beautiful (on the inside/out) entrees to your friends/family. There's something for everyone: Caramelized Chipotle Chicken , Grilled Skirt Steak and Arugula Salad with Roquefort and Catalina Dressing, Miso Glazed Sea Bass , or this Vegetarian Wheat Berry Salad with Grilled Tofu


Gourmet Magazine

Easy Mini Burgers

Here is a delicious and EASY recipe for Mini Inside-Out White Cheddar Burgers and sweet potato fries. This meal took no longer than 25 minutes. I just used what I had in my fridge!

Burgers:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
salt/pepper/garlic salt (sprinkle a nice amount on there to coat all the meat)
Mix together and form into 6 small patties
Cut 6 small 1/2" cubes of white cheddar cheese (I use a low fat brand); place a cube in the middle of each patty and seal the edges; grill for 3-5 minutes per side. (I used a grill pan and had it on Med-High heat) about 3.5 mins for medium rare.

I served mine with Balsamic Onions:
1/2 yellow onion sliced to form rings
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
dash of salt

Take a pre-heated saucepan pan and add the olive oil. Let it heat up for about a minute and add the onions. Toss them so they're well-coated. Cook for about 5 minutes (or until they look glossy). Add the balsamic, sugar and salt and continue cooking for about 15 minutes on low heat until the onions look caramelized.

Potato Buns:
I stick mine in the oven for about 5 minutes to get them warm and toasty.

Sweet Potato Fries: I buy the frozen kind at whole foods and doctor them up with a bit of salt and brown sugar. Spray with Pam and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Assemble and enjoy!

Etiquette Check

Ladies and Gents, let's brush up on your etiquette from one of my heroes-Emily Post. Here is how you set a BASIC (1-2 course) table:


And some tricks so you never forget:
-Picture the word “FORKS.” The order, left to right is: F for Fork, O for Plate (the shape!), K for Knives and S for Spoons. (Okay – you have to forget the r, but you get the idea!)
-Holding your hands in front of you, touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your forefinergers to make a lower case ‘b’ with your left hand and a lower case ‘d’ with your right hand. This reminds you that ‘bread and butter’ go to the left of the place setting and ‘drinks’ go on the right.
Some other things to know:
Knife blades always face the plate
The napkin goes to the left of the fork, or on the plate
The bread and butter plate and knife are optional

When you want to serve one more course, here is how it should look:
Informal 3-Course Meal

Click HERE for a full guideline to the diagram above. As we grow, (if you keep reading me) we'll graduate the 3-course meal and head to the formal dining sets...

Do you have a gorgeous place setting you want to show off? Email me and I'll feature you! Can someone comment already? Thanks.

The Emily Post Institute

Alberto's Champignons and Anna's Forest Mushrooms

What do you get when you cross the two most talented, hand-painted porcelain designers (featuring their famous mushrooms) in the world? A very good mushroom trip. That happened to me today while perusing the 8th floor at Barneys and came across the breathtaking tablescape you see above. Anna Weatherley and Alberto Pinto have really done it in creating this limited edition of each designer's mushroom. The rich colors and painted details with pillows to match, truly make it a work of art. I would take this over any piece of artwork in the world. It's no wonder that Anna's designs are featured in the private quarters of the White House.

Last Days of Summer

Get your fresh produce as fast as you can! Now that Summer's coming to an end, it's time to eat all those wonderful fruits/vegetables that make Summer so delicious. Here's a menu I plan to use this weekend. I'll most likely substitute gourmet buns for croissants. I can't wait to try the margarita ice pops!

Tomato and Watermelon Salad (Isn't it beautiful?)

Margarita Ice Pops (Once you pop you can't stop)

Manchego Jalapeno Cornbread (I would make these bite size and serve them with the salad)

Crosshatch Hot Dogs On Grilled Croissants (with slaw) (Creative way to serve Hot diggities)

Brown Sugar Berry Cobbler (Cobbler=Delectable)

Extras (if you want to go the extra mile:)

Crunchy Chili Rings


Homemade Potato Chips:


Finally, my Caspari Plate Combo would go so well with this meal:

Epicurious, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Weelicious.com

Pancake Pancake Bakers Man

M(B)ake me those pancakes as fast as you can! Finding an inspiring blog is like having a birthday all over again. Today I got lucky and discovered http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/. Kevin, the blogger, has some of the most creative combinations I have yet to see. Be sure to try one of his delicious pancake concoctions: (I can't wait to try on Saturday morning!)
As Pictured:
Sweet Potato Pie Pancakes (You could add some marshmallows to these)

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

I Want Candy

Edible centerpieces? Check. Sugary napkin rings? Check. Cotton Candy Martinis? Check! What more could you ask for? Friends who don't mind visiting the dentist.

Instead of flowers, go for candy... it's less expensive and you can send it home with your guests. I plan on making my very own candy topiary tree along with candy martinis. Stay tuned...

Check out Dylan's Candy Bar if you haven't already... It's like visiting Charlie's Factory with Wonka Bars and all! The only thing missing: Umpa Lumpa's.



PC: RachelRayMag, Dylans Candy Bar, Flickr, Porter House Designs, Lovehearts.com, Ediblecrafts.com

Waitress

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'Waitress' is one of my all-time favorite movies... not only for its visuals effects of mouthwatering pies with unique names (and fillings) like "I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong And I Don’t Want Earl To Kill Me Pie": made of “Vanilla custard with banana. Hold the banana…” but more so because it shows how food can change someone's life. I could relate to Jenna while making her "Falling in Love Chocolate Pie" (pictured above) as when I met my husband I had the same perma-smile that would keep me up at night and I couldn't stop baking. There's nothing like falling in love...

What would your pie be called?

Recipe Links:

"Fresh Blueberry Pie"

"Marshmallow Mermaid Pie"

"Falling in Love Pie"

Sunday Smunday

Come Sunday, I'm usually exhausted and often succumb to speed-dialing some mediocre Thai or pizza delivery. It's never that good and I'm left feeling unsatisfied and annoyed that I didn't make something myself. The fix: quick and easy and most importantly HEALTHY comfort foods! Baked Fried Chicken, organic mac n' cheese, roasted asparagus, and a light caesar salad with crushed (fat free) sour cream & onion chips for a nice crunch. Dinner in 30 minutes (take that Rachel Ray!) Easy, Breezy, Beautiful.


Chicken:
-I buy skinless, organic chicken cutlets
-dip them in egg batter (1 egg with a little bit of skim milk whisked together)
-dredge them in flour or else just put them right in kellogg's corn flake crumbs seasoned with paprika, salt and pepper
-Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes

Mac n Cheese:
-I buy Healthy Harvest organic mac n' cheesee and doctor it up at the end
-prepare as packaged
-add low fat grated white cheddar cheese on top
-when I'm not pairing this with baked fried chicken, I often add a layer of bread crumbs and pop it in the oven (for a few minutes) to give it a nice bite
-using ramekins is also an easy tool for having a serving size

Asparagus:
-as stated before, rinse, pop off the ends, spray with pam and add sea salt. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.

Caesar Salad:
-Rinse hearts of romaine, dry off, add low fat caesar dressing and crushed sour cream and onion pringles. I let it sit for a few minutes before serving so it's not too crunchy.

Enjoy!

Accessorize it!

Setting a table is a lot like fashion: it's all about accessories. Since trends are constantly changing and your taste is (hopefully) evolving, small additions, like peacock napkin rings can really spice things up. These prices are hard to beat: Goblets at $6.95/piece, napkin rings for $6.00? SO recessionista! Finally, how about peacock picture frames used as place cards? If you're feeling extra generous, you can give them to your guests as gifts.
PC: ZGallerie.com, Crate and Barrel